4 Ways to Know You are Hearing God’s Voice

It’s been over 10 years since I received Jesus into my life. Since then I’ve been trying to learn everything I can about Him. Having and maintaining a personal relationship with my creator is my heart’s desire.

Hearing God’s voice is something I’ve always longed to hear. Early in my walk, everything was so new to me so I never really knew if I was hearing the voice of God.

I was studying the Bible, praying throughout the day, and fellowshipping with others but I still wasn’t sure if I was hearing from God.

John 10:27, ESV, tells us that:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

After reading this, I thought “I am His sheep” so I should be hearing His Voice.

I started realizing that I was hearing God’s Voice, I just didn’t know it was His.  This is very common for most people. We have so many voices speaking to us throughout the day that we have a hard time hearing God’s Voice.

The Voice of God

God is gentle and His work is done by His Spirit. He doesn’t need to display dramatic powers or catastrophic events to prove His power.

Zechariah 4:6, NIV, says

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

God’s voice is heard in multiple ways in the Bible. He communicated through sounds of thunder, earthquakes, clouds, bushes, prophets, etc.

How To Hear God’s Voice

We need to train ourselves to hear God’s voice. There are so many other voices we hear throughout the day which can make it hard to know which one is His.

The good news is…we know that our God speaks. The Bible tells us that God spoke directly to many people in the Bible and He used different ways to speak. And…He is still speaking today!!

We hear accounts of people today saying they’ve heard God’s voice audibly. I don’t doubt that for a minute. God is personal and I believe He can speak directly to us even if it’s audible.

As I mentioned above, hearing God’s voice is not the only way He speaks to us. Since God speaks in many different ways, we need to know if we are really hearing from God.

We hear four different voices every day.

• We hear the voice of God
• The enemy’s voice
• Our own voices
• Voices from other people.

Here is a breakdown of what each voice brings:

• God’s perfect voice. God’s voice always lines up with scripture. It brings peace, love, joy, gentleness, redemption, and conviction.
• The voice of the enemy. This voice creates confusion, irrational thoughts, negative ideas, and revenge. Hearing this voice will cause you to have feelings of sadness and shame.
• Our voice. Our voice focuses on itself. It will be full of pride and justified in its thoughts.
• Other people’s voices. Recognizing other people’s voices is pretty clear.  They come through many different people throughout the day and are either good or bad.

Hearing from God

Having a clear understanding of each voice we hear is important because we want to hear God’s voice. People seek to hear God’s voice when they are in the midst of a big decision or a trial. This makes sense because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9) and we should be seeking Him during these times.

We should always be running to Jesus when making decisions, we need to rest in Him. He will always make the right decision for you if you invite Him in. This is exactly why you need to know God’s voice. So many other voices can mislead you and cause problems further down the road.

How to Hear from God

Here are some ways you can hear from God. You may never hear His voice audibly but you will know His voice when it lines up with His Word.

1. Through God’s Word

The Bible is the most common way that God speaks to us today. The Bible is full of answers for everything we need to know. Studying God’s Truth will reveal who He really is. Trusting that God’s Word is true will uncover His will for your life.

Studying the Bible should be a part of your life. It shouldn’t be something you feel you have to do. It should be something you want to do. Invite Him in so He can speak into your life through His Word. You will find God is His Word.

Allow Him to work through you so you can grow closer to Him and be a reflection of who He is. Every time I open my Bible God is speaking to me through the scripture I’m reading that day. It’s always relevant to exactly where I am.

He knows everything I am facing and gives me the wisdom to get through it. Whether I’m dealing with something good or bad, He always has the answer.

Taking the time to read God’s Word is important. Make sure you are reading directly from the Bible. It’s okay to use a devotion or a book in addition to the Bible but make sure the bible verses are valid. We can easily be led astray if we don’t use the Bible as our main source of study.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

2. Through Prayer

Being in communication with God throughout your day is huge. This is called prayer. Praying to God allows you to include Him in every moment.

Prayer should not be an obligation. Being in communication with Jesus should be the most important thing in your life. He should be included in your daily life just like your family is.

There are multiple times in the Bible when Jesus took the time to pray to His Father.  We should be doing the same. After all, we are trying to be more like Him, right?

Quiet time with Jesus is a must. Think of how blessed we are to be in contact with God through Jesus. He made a way and we don’t need anyone except for Jesus to get to our Father. Jesus is the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

Prayer is how we communicate with God.  Pray without ceasing to hear God’s voice.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

3. Through Worship and Praise

God’s voice can be heard through praise and worship. We praise our Father for all the wonderful things He does and for who He is.  We worship Him because He is worthy.

Worshipping God through music is where I hear Him the most. It’s important to be careful of the worship music you are listening to. It should line up with scripture. If it doesn’t, find worship music that does. We can easily be led astray if we choose to fill our minds with music that doesn’t honor God.

Take some time during your day to praise and worship God. He is worthy and loves to hear us make a joyful noise.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” Psalm 98:4-6 NIV

4. Through Other People

Let’s face it, we have a lot of people in our lives who speak a lot. When we surround ourselves with God-loving people, we can gain wisdom from them.  God speaks through people just like we see Him speaking through people in the Bible.

God puts biblically sound people in our lives to minister to us. These people keep us accountable and give us His wisdom. The Lord has put many of these people in my life. Some have come and gone but their place in my life will never be forgotten.

If God hasn’t placed anyone in your life like this, pray and ask Him to send someone. Trust Him and allow Him to send someone you can trust. He will.

“For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” Matthew 10:20 NLT

How Are You Hearing God’s Voice?

It’s amazing how God uses all the ways above to speak to me. I’d love to hear how God has been speaking to you. Knowing God’s Word is the most important way to hear His Voice. If we don’t know His Word then we won’t know if it’s really Him.